From: "Charles Brown" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Thu, 05 Jul 2001 13:44:10 -0400 To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [L-I] NATO threatens Greek sovereignty NATO threatens Greek sovereignty Special to the World ATTENS, Greece - The office of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) in Thessaloniki, Greece, referring to the upcoming visit to that city's port by NATO warships, said last week that "the visit is not a courtesy one but it is part of plans for intervention in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), the changing of borders and the decimation of the Balkans." The announcement went on to say that "our city is being consolidated as a springboard for military interventions against neighboring peoples, and the port is being turned into a naval station of NATO." The KKE local office also sent a letter to the president and the board members of the Thessaloniki Port Authority, calling on them "in the framework of their duties, to refuse to become accomplices in the new crime being prepared in our region." In the meantime, the Socialist Party (PASOK)-led government on Monday discussed participation by Greece in a projected international peacekeeping force to be stationed in FYROM. Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis convened a meeting with his foreign and defense ministers for the purpose. The defense minister said a NATO decision authorizing such a force would be taken on Wednesday, and that Greece's armed forces are ready to participate in a force ostensibly to monitor the disarming of Albanian insurgents attacking villages in FYROM the past few months. According to reports, one army mechanized battalion has been placed on stand-by in case a peacekeeping force is sanctioned. In the past, Greece had steadfastly opposed all NATO interventions in Yugoslavia and major demonstrations of opposition have taken place in all cities, including the closure of the port of Thessaloniki to U.S. troops by the mass demonstrations. However, in contrast to other parts of Yugoslavia at that time, Greek capitalists, heavily indebted to U.S. and EU finance capital, now have large investments in FYROM, particularly in petroleum refineries, the assets of which were moved from trade-union organized refineries in Greece, which are now nearly closed down. In the past weeks, government spokesmen have spoken of discussions with representatives of Albanian terrorists in which clear threats to Greek territory were allegedly made. Nevertheless, a government spokesman on Monday dismissed the possibility of Albanian terrorist activity in Greece's northerm provinces, saying he disagreed with statements to that effect by Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica. The alleged threat by a self-described "National Liberation Army" was made last month, but the leadership of the group now denies it. Greece's northern regions now have about one million Albanian residents, many living in poverty, but most who consider themselves Greeks. Many are descended from the partisan armies of Greeks, Albanians, and Yugoslavs who liberated the area from the Nazis toward the end of the anti-fascist war. However, particularly in overcrowded poor villages, fascist nationalists are operating among the Albanians and the Turkish minority, using the common Muslim religion in their demagogy. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
